A Marin's-Eye

View Of

Botany Bay

Among the motley collection

of souls who arrived at Botany Bay, New South Wales, in

January, 1788, in Australia’s

First Fleet were 160 private marines whose task was to keep an eye on the convicts.

THE marines had embarked in the fleet towards the end of 1786.

They were told that they would be discharged at their own request at the end of three years.

But things did not turn out exactly like that, and in the case of at least one of them—John Easty—it was six years and three months before he even got back to England.

During those six years and three months, Easty kept a diary, which, by some remarkable fluke, has been passed down to the present day.

Erratic Speller

The diary is part of a collection bequeathed to the Public Library of New South Wales by the late Sir William Dixson, whose will provided for a foundation to publish historical manuscripts, translate books and documents, and reprint rare books and documents relating to Austra lasia and the Pacific so that they would be available to students.

Easty’s diary has now been pub lished in an attractive volume through this foundation. But there is little material in it of worthwhile historical value that is not available elsewhere.

and one wonders whether it w really worth publishing at all.

A glance at the diary reveals th Easty was a poorly educated ma whose spelling was erratic and who: punctuation was virtually non-exister These shortcomings would matter if his observations we: penetrating or in some way out < the ordinary. As it was, they wei frequently nothing more than ter: records of the state of the weathe the comings and goings of ships, t the number of lashes some ui fortunate convict or soldier receive for some misdemeanour or other.

"Prodistant Riligion"

A more than fair example x Easty’s writing is this unusually lor (for him) description of the Cai of Good Hope, where his shi called in November, 1787, on tf way from England to Australia;— “The Cape of Good Hope Li« in Lattd of 34:15 South & Longt of 18:45 East itts a lime Plac & Produces fine Weatt and Barle Beef is very good hear and Muttc is very Cheap hear the Sheaps tail* are the Longest heare of any Plac in the world thay grow to 14 or 1 Pounds Each this place is Inhabited t the duch thay are of the Prodistai Riligion the Land is Every wai very fertile you Steare up th harbour SE By S & anchors Je under the table Land the town Li« in a valley between the table Lan and the Devls Back and the Lior runp and the Sugar Lofe itt is fortifie from three or four Parts of the tow thay are a very Strict Sort of People t ther own People for fellony . . . tha hang them for the Lest thing in th world allmost and any thing that very Bad thay rack them and Brea there Bones one by one and hang thei upon a gibett Like a dog hear is th fineest Gardens in the world belonge to the States Eastindea Compart fowl are plentfull ducks and Ges and hogs are hear fine horses is hea Black Cattle is hear very fine hea is hear is fine goat hear hear is people hear Called hottontots that are a dark kind of people and quit innisent and ignorant.”

Easty’s diary is the second Fir: Fleet journal to be published throug the William Dixson Foundation. Th first was the journal of James Scot] a sergeant of marines, a review c which appeared in PIM for Marcl 1963.—RL.

(Memorandum Of The Transao

Tions Of A Voyage From Englan

TO BOTANY BAY, 1787-1793. The Trustee of the Public Library of New South WaM in association with Angus and Robertson Sydney. 30/-.)